Timeline Templates for Education

WeVideo Support
- September 22, 2018 00:11

Templates streamline and guide your edits

A template is a structured edit that is pre-populated with a collection of media and elements like video, titles, audio, and transitions. Templates can save you time, acting as a guide for structuring your content, which can be especially helpful when creating multiple videos of the of the same type. Templates also serve to inspire creativity and can also be an excellent learning tool for students.

As a WeVideo for Schools account owner or admin, you can create templates with authored titles, written guidelines, and content for others to use (or to remove and replace with their own). Establish a "look", define a structure, or set branded bumpers at the beginning and end of your new videos.

Check out the templates on your Dashboard provided by WeVideo to get you started.

Using Templates

Instead of starting an edit from scratch, select a template to begin.

Selecting a template

There are two locations where you can start a new edit from a template. From the Dashboard, and the Projects tab.

From the Dashboard

When you open and log into WeVideo for Schools in your browser, the first space you see is the Dashboard. The Dashboard contains your recent edits, and most prominently along the top of your page the templates from which to choose.

Choose a template to begin.

Your timeline is now populated with the contents of the selected template.

From the Projects tab

You can also start your edit from a template from the Projects tab in a couple of ways. Click on the Projects tab to see the two options.

NEW VIDEO EDIT Button

Select and open a Project where you want to start this edit.

Click on NEW VIDEO EDIT in the top left of your page.

Select the template that you want to use from within the popup list.

You are taken to your edit timeline with the selected template media populated.

From the BLUE BUTTON in the lower right of your projects page

Select and open a Project where you want to start this edit.

Mouse over the "+" button in the lower right of your page.

Select the option to start your edit "From template".

Select the template that you want to use from within the popup list and click START.

You are taken to your edit timeline with the selected template populated.

Editing my timeline contents

Once you've selected a template and your edit is open, your timeline is treated exactly like any other edit in WeVideo.

You can double click on motion titles and text elements to change copy, fonts, color and more. For any videos and images that you want to change, you can delete the template elements from the timeline and then replace them with your own media or media from the WeVideo Essentials library.

Once you have created an edit from a template, this edit is treated like any other. Any work done within this edit will not affect the source template in any way, only the timeline you're currently working on.

Note: If you are a student or teacher using WeVideo for Schools and do not have any templates available, contact your account administrator. If you are an account owner or admin and do not see any, verify the feature is ON in your account settings. See Template Administration / Settings below.

Creating templates for future use

Begin by creating a video edit

Templates are edits that are bundled with pre-populated media. To create a template, as an account admin simply create a blank edit and add the elements you wish to have available every time that template is used. You can also use and expand on previously created edits, including edits made from templates!

Convert an edit to a template

After you have your edit timeline containing all the elements you wish to use for your template, go to the Main Menu and select Convert to template.

From your edit timeline, go to the Main Menu.

After selecting Convert to template in the editor's main menu, you are presented with options in a popup dialog.

Set a name for your template

The name of your template reflects the current name of your edit. Change it here, or leave it as is.

Set its Status

Your template can reside in one of two states. These determine whether or not your template will be published for use in a new edit by you, or another on your shared account.

Draft

The template is created and can still be edited. It is not available for use with new video edits by you or any others on your account. templates in the Draft state will have a clear label denoting this.

Live

The template is published and available for use to all those on the account. Live templates do not have a banner/label.

You can change the Status of the template at any time from the Templates tab. See below.

Editing previously created Templates

Don't fret, with proper permissions you can modify your template at any time. Templates can be edited by their owner, or by those permitted in the application settings.

If you created an edit from a template, and that template is then modified, it will not alter the edit. Only future edits from the modified template will contain the current modifications.

To modify a template, locate it in your Template tab.

Click the Template tab at the top of your interface.

Right-click on the template, and select Modify template (or double-click to open the template directly).

You are prompted with a notification that this template will be set to Draft and will not be visible for others to use until you set it again it Live.

Make changes to the template on the timeline as desired.

Save your template from the main menu, or

Go to the FINISH tab to change its Status, then FINISH

Your template is now updated with your recent changes, with the Status you have selected.

Template Options - Changing Status on the fly

You can change the Status of your template to Draft or Live at any time from its context menu in the Templates tab.

Go to the Templates tab.

Find the template whose status you wish to change.

Right-click and select Template options.

Select Draft or Live from the Template options popup.

CONVERT to apply.

Note: If a template's Status is changed from Live to Draft, no Edits utilizing said template will be lost. Template status changes or modifications do not affect any edits that have previously utilized them.

Deleting templates

Since there may be multiple users utilizing the same templates for group assignments, there is a staging area for deleted templates before they're permanently deleted, from which they can still be retrieved if the deletion was accidental.

Don't forget, actions taken to your template do not affect any current edits that have utilized them.

To remove a template from the Templates tab, right-click the template and Select "Delete" - it is now in the "Deleted templates" bin.

To permanently remove a template, find it in the "Deleted templates" bin, right-click and select "Permanently delete." After a template has been permanently deleted, it is unretrievable.

Template Administration / Settings

Turning off the Template feature for all users

You can enable or disable each template with its Draft/Live setting, and as an admin, you can also toggle off the template feature globally for all users. This includes any templates provided by WeVideo.

To toggle the Template feature:

Go to the Admin tab.

Select Settings.

Select Global from the left menu.

Scroll the page down to the TEMPLATES section.

"Display Template feature system-wide for all users" Toggle is ON by default.

Click the toggle to disable or enable the feature.

General questions or concerns

Did you run into a bug? Is something not working the way it should be? Do you have a report to make? Please contact us at support@wevideo.com - we'd love to hear from you!